Unionization will protect rights of college athletes

Indubitably, forming a union of college athletes will be an uphill battle, but with the support of allies on Capitol Hill, a momentous change in the way college athletics operate is under way.

Kain Colter, a former quarterback for Northwestern University, petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for the right to form a union. The regional director of the NLRB ruled that Northwestern's scholarship football players should be eligible to form a union.

Student-athletes need the kind of protections a union can negotiate. The main concerns of players are to secure basic protections of improved medical coverage, concussion reform and limited practice hours.

Players have no voice at all, yet the NCAA generates billions of dollars off college football players by restraining their compensation. Unionization and collective bargaining are the appropriate methods to discuss the concerns harvested by student athletes.

Support and commitment received from the United Steelworkers were essential to the positive outcome. The impact of this ruling can pave the way to improved conditions for college athletics and put more pressure on the NCAA to change its policies on compensation to athletes.

Redefining the laborers of this multibillion-dollar industry will reshape the future of college sports.

Matthew McCarthy

Brick

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Unionization will protect rights of college athletes

Indubitably, forming a union of college athletes will be an uphill battle, but with the support of allies on Capitol Hill, a momentous change in the way college athletics operate is under way.

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